Greg Kendall-Ball/Reporter-News Piles of burned trees stand behind the entry sign to Possum Kingdom State Park on Wednesday, Jan. 25. A large wildwire that swept through the area last April burned 1,300 of the park's 1,600 acres.

Greg Kendall-Ball/Reporter-News Rocky Holland, superintendent at Possum Kingdom State Park, surveys the park's boundary fence on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Holland said the park is applying to FEMA for assistance in replacing more than 9 miles of fencing that was damaged by a large wildfire that swept through the park last April.

Greg Kendall-Ball/Reporter-News A park sign that burned in the April wildfire has yet to be replaced.

Greg Kendall-Ball/Reporter-News Ash and soot that wash down from the hills after a rain fill nearby creeks and water runoffs with black silt.

Greg Kendall-Ball/Reporter-News Holland said the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wants to leave most of the burned areas uncleared, so they can monitor how "Mother Nature will resolve this situation" over the next several years.

Greg Kendall-Ball/Reporter-News While the fire did not burn into the main campground area, some burned out trees are still visible near the park's recreational areas.

Greg Kendall-Ball/Reporter-News A ridge bearing the skeletons of burned cedar and oak trees stands above Possum Kingdom State Park. Holland said the vegetation in that area was so dense that, before April's wildfire, you couldn't see the hillside.

Greg Kendall-Ball/Reporter-News Holland said the fire moved through the park so quickly, it didn't have time to burn all the vegetation. Some trees - such as the one on the left - were barely touched and have recovered well. The needles on the tree on the right turned dark red, a sign the tree has died, Holland said.